Waite Court: State Action & Black Rights

"State Action" Cases of the Waite Court: An Overview

• Pamela Brandwein argues that a conventional understanding of the Supreme Court’s stance on Black rights post-Civil War needs revisiting.
• The article seeks to dispel anachronisms and recover original understandings
• A historical institutional analysis is used to re-evaluate state action doctrine.
• Distinctions and assumptions are made to shed light on judicial discourse.
• Emphasis is placed on understanding the Waite Court in its historical context.
• Federal power to protect blacks was stronger than recognized by scholars.

The Waite Court

• Wiley Post addresses how Wiley explores institutional practices contributed to anachronisms.
• The Supreme Court’s story is defined by racial abandonment.
• Blame is placed on defeating Republican efforts to secure national protection of Black rights.
• The court system "paralyzed the federal government's attempt to protect black citizens".
• Scholarship asserts narrow interpretations of the Reconstruction Amendments.
• Assertions include limiting protections for freedmen.
• Assertions consider what protections were available in almost all situations.

State Neglect and Federal Power

• Understanding is provided for how the Civil Rights Cases occupy a central position in this narrative.
• The cases established "state action", limiting the Fourteenth Amendment's reach.
• "Merely private" wrongs don't fall under the purview of these amendments.
• According to Woodworth, this is "the Court's own bit of reconciliation" between North and South at the expense of black rights.

Justice Bradley and Civil Rights

• Justice Bradley's opinion was "special favorite of the laws".
• Justice Bradley said exclusions from public accommodations were not badges of slavery.
• Justice Bradley said suggesting otherwise would be "running the slavery argument into the ground".
• The aim was to consider state actions and abandonment.
• An investigation of legal categories, assumptions, and distinctions is performed.
• The goal is to correct anachronistic interpretations.
• An explanation is made that the actions at the time aligned with federal power.

Key Features of State Action Doctrine

• Presents features of state action
  • State neglect
  • Legal theory
• Theory distinguished between Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
• Analysis was based on understanding the Waitesera where shared “no state” language existed amongst differing Amendments.
• The conclusion was that the court did not handcuff congressional power to protect blacks.

The Fourteenth Amendment

• Stated to only apply to state action
  • Private individual action therefore remains outside of Federal reach
  • Said framework can be used to conceptualize state neglect. There is a downright foreign feature
  • Justicial difference was shown for Congressional enforcement of Amendments.
• The Amendments of course shared the “no state” language
• Used 19th century distinctions between previously existing laws.
• Also used “rights created” by congress Bradley draws a distinction between Amendments.
• Congressional reinforcement of Fifteenth Amendments therefore exempted
• Congress was statedto maintain direction powers of authority.
• • Congresses powers were available regardless of state actions/neglects There is a connection to Brendier’s work
• Said that cases gave congress this authority
• His argument lacked intstitutionalization to pack the testaments The goal was not to focus that the court was primarily centered on the preservation of federalism.

State Neglect

• This action to examine what exactly was The Cenfest of state neglect It was determined that the "state is limited".
• Appearing in the little studied passage of the Civial right cases
• Bradley used state neglect to identify where nonforcement to enact laws “rights as equal” a category under 14th.
• A category was deemed “cruical” and the definition had particular reference to 19tch century meaning.
• States did indeed havesan affirmative duty to admister law protecting “Civil rights” on equal basis face.
• As the idea that if the state punched violennace against whites also failed violence from all actions this failure means there is right to deny
• That would be a stay fraction within the maning or the 14th

Key Figures and Additional Points

• Justice William Raftquist seated the amomrdity to federalized laws that were controlled by the Civil Rights cases and in state vs Horrice
• The article moves the state neglect concept showever in the justice was undered no to connect these to procuts.
• There is a concept in order
• Spends final section on discussing on additional work for
• Framed in the instituonal establish.

Historical and Institutional Context

• Courts were to help people to not see black but if the former last restate in the sense that is it can be really know what Justice Bradley was, about limits or stating from that you will
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• Moderate and Republican are making that state makes the content about Drawing us and it’s new it is not our own it is and in some ways be said it was be sent him in fast There is what
• The body is very good at and at like is their was about all this 1860 s as so you can it would be about Then it was

The Court Record

• Court system, as was the end of there for it’s so many of the reasons was so you never know in that way.
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Modern Analysis

• In the context of political the state were it is it that we know be for sure.
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